Free Web NovelChapter 64: Chapter 39: Five Demons Steal Treasure
More than half the guests had already dispersed from the hall. However, members of the Dragon Palace and guests who dared not offend them remained in their seats, their eyes fixed on the magical battle in the sky.
Qiao Feifeng weaved left and right in the air, dodging with such elegance that he barely seemed to shift his posture. No matter how madly Ao Lin raged, he couldn’t touch a single hair on Qiao Feifeng’s head. In contrast, Qiao Feifeng’s jade ruler continuously struck Ao Lin on the head, beating the Golden-Scaled True Dragon until it was battered and bleeding.
The entire battle looked as if Qiao Feifeng was merely toying with his opponent.
’This Eighth Prince is utterly incompetent.’ Even as Xuzhuang carefully observed the battle, he couldn’t discern much of the profundity of the Supreme Mysterious Dao Skill. Shaking his head, he took a sip from his wine cup and set it back on the table. He estimated that Shishi had been gone for ten minutes or so and should have reached the depths of the Dragon Palace by now.
Xuzhuang suddenly formed a magic formula, and an identical, lifelike figure stepped out from his body.
This was the Tai Su False Form Method, a Daoist art Xuzhuang had once cultivated. It could create an illusory double, and rumor had it that if cultivated to a profound level, one could even turn the false into reality.
Xuzhuang had used this very method to create a clone.
Xuzhuang and his clone exchanged a look. He handed the Stone Talisman to the clone, smiled faintly, and suddenly shot up into the air.
The eyes of both Qiao Feifeng and Ao Lin flickered, and even that small, ancient bell seemed to direct its attention toward him.
Once in the air, Xuzhuang put on a smile. He raised his arms and cupped his hands in a salute. "Fellow Daoist Qiao, long time no see."
"Oh? Xuzhuang?" Qiao Feifeng’s eyes flickered. He glanced sideways at Ao Lin and frowned slightly. "What are you doing here? Surely you don’t intend to interfere in the affairs of my Taixuan Sect?"
Xuzhuang laughed heartily and cupped his hands again. "How could I possibly bear such karma? I just happened to be passing by and thought I’d say hello. We’ll meet again!"
With that said, his figure blurred, and he shot past Qiao Feifeng, making his escape toward the surface of the sea.
’What was the meaning behind Xuzhuang’s appearance?’ Qiao Feifeng couldn’t figure it out.
Frowning in thought for a moment, he suddenly lost his playful mood. With a thunderous shout, his jade ruler unleashed a boundless light. He smashed down hard once more, instantly knocking Ao Lin to the seabed. Qiao Feifeng swept his gaze around and said flatly, "Junior Sister You, do not resist."
With a wave of his large sleeve, he swept the Dragon Maiden inside. He then produced a lasso and tossed it over Ao Lin’s head, instantly snaring the dragon’s head tightly. With a single tug, he hoisted Ao Lin up like a dead dog.
The entire sequence of actions took but a moment. He glanced up at Xuzhuang’s retreating figure, then his own body flickered as he shot off in another direction.
Not long after Xuzhuang started escaping toward the surface, he felt the Stone Talisman in his clone’s hand tremble slightly.
Xuzhuang’s heart stirred. The Dragon Palace was still within the range of his Spiritual Sense. Probing it carefully, he detected no commotion. ’Could Shishi’s mission really have gone so smoothly?’
After a moment’s thought, Xuzhuang slowed his pace. He took out the Five Demons Transport Map, untied the cord, and unrolled the scroll.
On its blank background were five lifelike demons of different shapes, colored red, orange, green, blue, and purple. The moment the scroll was unrolled, the five demons seemed to spring to life, hopping and jumping about within the painting as they stretched their limbs.
After a moment, the red-skinned demon was the first to stop. It opened its mouth and appeared to shout something, though no sound escaped the painting. The other four demons then stopped moving as well.
Once their antics ceased, the red-skinned demon leaped forward and clawed at the painting’s white background, causing a dark rift to appear. The orange-skinned demon at its side hurried over, and together they pulled the rift wider. With a wave from the red-skinned demon, all five demons jumped into the opening one by one. Then, the rift vanished.
’So these are Celestial Demons?’ Xuzhuang wondered, staring at the now-blank scroll. ’Even with my Spiritual Sense, I can’t detect where they’ve gone? The arts of the Demon Sect are truly bizarre.’
Xuzhuang kept his Spiritual Sense focused on the Dragon Palace, watching for any changes while he waited. Sure enough, after only a moment, the image on the scroll stirred.
A rift was torn open in the scroll’s "background" once more. The red-skinned demon poked its head out, looked around, and then leaped through.
Xuzhuang was surprised. ’I’m nowhere near my original location, yet they still succeeded?’
He saw the red-skinned demon wave from inside the scroll. The orange-skinned demon appeared from the other side of the rift, clutching something. It struggled to get through, seemingly unable to fit. After it let out a few squawks, the red-skinned demon rushed back to pull the rift wider. Only then did the orange-skinned demon manage to squeeze into the scroll. It stumbled and tumbled over, and the object it held rolled away, spinning a few times on the painted ground. It was a Glazed Vase.
’So this is the magic treasure Shishi wanted?’ Xuzhuang’s gaze had not rested on the Glazed Vase for even a full second before his expression turned cold. ’Hmph. That Demoness.’
After the orange-skinned demon entered the scroll, a green-skinned one, clutching a round bronze mirror, leaped through. It was followed by the blue- and purple-skinned demons, each carrying a treasure, shoving and pushing as they scrambled to get into the scroll.
’Just as I expected.’ Xuzhuang sneered. Fortunately, he hadn’t listened to that Demoness Shishi and waited inside the Dragon Palace. He immediately rolled up the scroll and resumed his rapid escape toward the surface.
At that very instant, a furious roar erupted from within the Dragon Palace, shaking the sea and stirring up turbulent currents. The force sent the Shrimp Soldiers, Crab Generals, Fish Princesses, and Clam Girls toppling over one another. A black dragon shot up, its gaze sweeping in all directions. It quickly seemed to sense something, and its eyes locked onto a distant, barely visible shadow in the process of escaping.
The black dragon let out another long roar, seemingly summoning a response. Instantly, dozens of streaks of light flared up behind it—Demon Fiends, some in the form of true dragons or jiao-dragons, others as great whale-shark generals, and still others in human form.
They rode the surging undercurrents, giving chase to Xuzhuang at blistering speed.
These members of the Sea Race had the advantage of the Water Escape technique, and their speed was incredible. Even though Xuzhuang had a significant head start and they had only just left the Dragon Palace, they were gradually closing the distance.
Using his Sword Escape, Xuzhuang pushed his speed again and again, but he discovered that escaping through the dense water at the bottom of the sea was much slower than using a Flying Escape in the open air.
He had only fled for tens of thousands of li, and was just beginning to see daylight filtering down through the water, when he heard a roar from behind. The black dragon was stirring up roiling clouds of Demon Fiend energy, forming a "Water Dao" as it swam that carried its countless pursuers along in hot pursuit.
In addition, another streak of black light was moving at an incredible speed. Despite starting later, it had already caught up to the black dragon’s side.
’They’re incredibly fast.’ Xuzhuang frowned. Although he had anticipated a pursuit, he had planned on reaching the surface before deploying his other techniques. At this rate, however, he would soon be caught.
Fortunately, there were indeed no Nascent Soul Demon Embryos among his pursuers. He also had a head start. Had he lingered in the Dragon Palace, the choice of whether to fight or flee would not have been his to make.
After a moment of thought, Xuzhuang retracted his sword light and switched to the Five Elements Escape Technique. Although his mastery of this art wasn’t profound, by leveraging the innate advantage of a Water Escape, his speed didn’t drop much compared to his Sword Escape, and he conserved a great deal of Magical Power.
But after Xuzhuang switched techniques, his speed decreased rather than increased. Of course, this wasn’t to save a little Magical Power. At that same moment, his sword pellet shot out, transforming into a streak of clear light. Xuzhuang formed a sword-finger sign, and the light instantly split into sixteen beams that sliced through the water, heading straight for his pursuers.
The black dragon’s eyes narrowed, and it immediately summoned its Demon Fiend energy to defend itself. However, the beams of sword light separated, carving arcs through the water to bypass the dragon and strike at the pursuers behind it.
"ARGH!—"
The sixteen beams of sword light weaved through the water without the slightest resistance. They hacked left, slashed right, circled around, and lunged forward. In just a few moments of crisscrossing attacks, accompanied by waves of agonized howls, the sea was stained a deep crimson.
A quick glance revealed a dozen or two of the various sea demons, all forced back into their true forms. Some bore wounds that gushed blood, others had their limbs severed, and some were sliced clean in two. All of them began to sink into the depths of the sea.
"You little thief! If I get my claws on you, I’ll tear you to shreds and wash you down with wine!" the black dragon roared, its eyes glinting with a human-like cruelty. It coiled its massive body, churning the water into a powerful whirlpool to try and capture Xuzhuang’s Flying Sword.
Xuzhuang’s expression darkened. With a flick of his sword-fingers, the sixteen beams of light merged back into one. Against the deep blue of the seabed, it flashed with a startlingly cold light as it rode the whirlpool’s current and slashed straight down!
CLANG! A streak of black light shot swiftly in front of the black dragon, revealing the Black-armored Youth with his black hair, black horns, and pitch-black armor. The great halberd in his hand chopped down violently, striking Xuzhuang’s sword light head-on. A resounding clash of metal echoed out, sending Xuzhuang’s sword pellet flying backward.
"Xiaoqi, well done!" The black dragon thrust out its claw, trying to grab Xuzhuang’s sword pellet. Its five talons were razor-sharp, and as Demon Fiend energy roiled between its pitch-black scales, a Dragon Pattern Talisman faintly appeared.
Xuzhuang hesitated for a split second but decided against attempting to counter-attack the claw. His sword-fingers shifted into a magic formula, and the sword pellet flickered, turning invisible. It slipped from the black dragon’s grasp and returned to his side.
"Dammit!" The black dragon’s claw came up empty. It looked up and saw that while his Flying Sword had been tied up, Xuzhuang had already fled a great distance. A surge of anger rose within it, and it prepared to lead the chase once more.
"Second Brother," the Black-armored Youth shouted, "this person’s Divine Techniques are extraordinary. Tell the ones who can’t keep up to fall back!"
The black dragon glanced back. The bodies of the Sea Race members killed and wounded by Xuzhuang’s sword were already sinking into the distant depths. A flash of hatred crossed its eyes as it roared, "Fine! Jiao Liu and Jiao Lang, you will pursue him with me and Xiaoqi! The rest of you, take the wounded back to the palace!"
